News Releases

Rice U. grad student debuts interactive ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ concert

HOUSTON – (Nov. 16, 2020) – They say necessity is the mother of invention. In the case of composer Badie Khaleghian, a doctoral candidate at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, necessity is the pandemic and its restrictions, while invention is his unique new interactive piece: “Let Your Voice Be Heard.”

Rice’s Moody Center celebrates Rothko Chapel’s 50th anniversary with recreation of historic exhibition

HOUSTON – (Nov. 16, 2020) – Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts will celebrate the golden anniversary of Houston’s Rothko Chapel with its spring exhibition, “Artists and the Rothko Chapel: 50 Years of Inspiration,” opening Jan. 22, 2021.

Rice U. courses ask the ‘Big Questions’ about death, hate and Disney

HOUSTON – (Nov. 16, 2020) – There are three things you can’t escape encountering in our world today: death, hate and, yes, The Walt Disney Co. Classes contemplating these forces are featured in the spring 2021 lineup of Big Questions courses from Rice’s School of Humanities.

Americans' attitudes about guns influenced by owners’ race and gender

HOUSTON – (Nov. 16, 2020) – A new study from researchers at Rice University found that Americans' attitudes about gun ownership are impacted by the gender and race of firearms' potential owners.

Former piece of Pacific Ocean floor imaged deep beneath China

In a study that gives new meaning to the term "rock bottom," seismic researchers have discovered the underside of a rocky slab of Earth's lithosphere that has been pulled more than 400 miles beneath northeastern China by the process of tectonic subduction.

What comes next? Rice experts to discuss 2020 election's impact in Nov. 18 webinar

HOUSTON – (Nov. 16, 2020) – The 2020 election is now one for the history books, and Rice University political scientists will discuss the results, President Donald Trump's reaction and the incoming Joe Biden administration’s likely domestic and foreign policy in a Nov. 18 webinar.

Biden must avoid cold war with China, says Rice U. expert

With U.S.-China relations at their lowest point since the Cold War, President-elect Joe Biden’s expected approach to the world’s most populous country will likely exacerbate tensions, according to an expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Once-discounted binding mechanism may be key to targeting viruses

Researchers detail subtle stabilizing effects in cells’ ability to recognize coronaviruses that compromise the immune system. The discovery could lead to new targets to prevent disease.

Parents pick children’s pre-K based on location and program quality

HOUSTON – (Nov. 12, 2020) – Houston-area parents decide where to send their children for prekindergarten based largely on quality and location, according to a new research brief from Rice University's Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC).

Texas teacher shortage tackled by Rice certification plan

HOUSTON – (Nov. 11, 2020) – Texas’ ongoing shortage of teachers has led Rice University’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies to launch a program that will allow students to work as paid interns teaching classes while they earn their state certification.

Folding proteins feel the heat, and cold

A new study shows proteins that presumably evolved to avoid water as they fold may actually behave in ways scientists did not anticipate.

Texas justice system needs reform to save taxpayer dollars, decrease jail overcrowding, says Baker Institute expert

HOUSTON – (Nov. 10, 2020) – The Texas justice system’s overreaction to low-level offenses wastes taxpayer dollars and contributes to overcrowded jails that put community health at risk, according to an expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Status of COVID-19 vaccines 'extremely promising,' says Baker Institute expert

HOUSTON – (Nov. 10, 2020) – As coronavirus cases surge in the United States and elsewhere, the world got good news Monday when Pfizer and its partner, the German company BioNTech, announced preliminary trial results that suggest their vaccine is more than 90% effective. Pfizer is one of six companies to receive funding from the U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed. The goal of the program is to have a vaccine by January. "If we can make it will depend on how fast the FDA approves a vaccine for emergency use authorization," said Kirstin Matthews, fellow in science and technology policy at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Biden has opportunity for systemwide immigration reform, says Baker Institute expert

Looser standards undermined early research on accuracy of COVID-19 tests